Why are There Two Versions of How Saul Died?

Did Saul kill himself or did the Amalekite?

1 Samuel 31:4

Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

2 Samuel 1:8-10

And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.

So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.

Answer:

   When you read the first verse above, what you see is an actual account of what had happened. Saul killed himself. So what about the second verse that seems to tell us that the Amalekite did it? If you read above those verses, you will see that this young Amakelite is talking with David at the time. This is of great importance, because we see what happened to him a few verses later. Let's look at that next…

2 Samuel 1:13-16

And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.

And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?

And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.

And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.

   The Amakelite had stars in his eyes. Like many other people do, he saw an opportunity to go to Saul after he had slain himself, grab his crown and bracelet, then brought them to David hoping for glory, fame, or some reward. What he got was to be put to death. Not what he had in mind I'm sure. No contradiction!